Decision makers

Justice for Amritanshu Verma

Amritanshu Verma aged 26 years; employee of Infosys Bangalore was killed in a hit-and-run incident in Bangalore on March 29th 2012. He was hit by a car in front of Advaith petrol bunk in BTM Layout, close to where he lived.

This accident was caught on the CCTV camera shows that the car was speeding at over 120 Km/hr when it hit Amritanshu. The police has also recovered a broken number plate from the accident site. The broken number plate (from the front bumper) is of the same speeding car, and it got off due to the impact of the accident and lay on the road.

Inspite of CCTV footage and the registration plate, found at the accident site (which is sufficient to identify the accused), the police have made no arrest in 2 months. The parents believe that the investigation is not moving in the right direction. Instead of corroborating all the evidences and arrest the accused, the police have invested their time in preparing a safe passage for the suspects. The parents of the only child believe that the whole case has been fabricated by the police and evidences have been prepared as afterthought to mislead the case and protect the accused. The entire investigation has open ends and unanswered question. The police have even supported destruction of evidences.

Amritanshu Verma was an epitome of humility, keen intellect and spontaneity. His absence has left his family and friends in trauma. Please join us in demanding a fair and just investigation, as deserved by any human being, and give justice to Amritanshu Verma, his bereaved family and his friends.

This petition was delivered to:

The Home Minister

Letter to

The Home Minister

P. Chidambaram, The Honorable Home Minister

Copy to:1. Commissioner of Police Bangalore City2. Chief Minister of the state of Karnataka and Delhi3. Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission4. HR, Infosys Technology Bangalore

Subject: Initiate an impartial, thorough inquiry and impart justice to Amritanshu Verma and his family.

Respected Sir,

I am writing for your kind attention towards the investigation being conducted by Bangalore traffic police with respect to a road accident which killed Amritanshu Verma.

Amritanshu Verma, aged 26 years, was employed at Bangalore with Infosys Technology for the last 2 years.

On the March 29th 2012 while Amritanshu Verma was returning home on his two wheeler scooter, he was hit by a speeding car. The incident caught on the CCTV camera clearly shows that the car was speeding at more than 120Kmph and it fled away after hitting Amritanshu.

A broken number plate (which reads KA51P7891) has been recovered from the accident site by the police. We believe that the CCTV footage and the number plate found at the accident site together serves as evidence to arrest the owner of the car, Dr. Subhash D Tarey. However, we are surprised that the police is not giving due importance to these evidences. We believe that the police are misleading the case to protect the suspects.

The parents of the only child and the relatives of the victim met the police investigation team in Bangalore to inquire about the proceeding on May 7th and May 8th 2012. After reviewing the case records, we were shocked to see their carelessness in the handling the case. We realized that police has paid more attention to protect the suspect(s) rather than conducting the investigation in a fair manner.

We strongly believe that the investigation is NOT being handled with due diligence and is being driven in a wrong direction. The Police has been trying to explain (and prove) that an ‘abandoned car’, found after 2-3 days of the accident, is involved in killing Amritanshu Verma. With respect to the number plate found at the accident site, the police have given contradicting explanations. The Police say that the number plate of the car owned by Dr. Subhash D. Tarey was stolen and used in the abundant car. The Police have also been trying to prove that the number plate was lying on the road and it is no way associated with the said accident. We suspect a foul play here.

When we met the investigating team in Bangalore on May 7th and May 8th 2012, six weeks after the accident. We were surprised to see that the investigating team

1. Has NOT given the CCTV footage to the forensic expert to identify the make and colour of the car (instead they gave irrelevant materials to the FSL for testing)2. has NOT taken on records the call log (mobile) of the suspects (Dr. Subhash Tarey, Vikram, Towing service, insurance agent etc)3. Has NOT taken on record all the calls made from the accident site (and nearing mobile towers and its vicinity) immediately after the accident4. Has NOT taken on record the whereabouts of Subhash Tarey, his son, garage owner and his staff working at the garage 5. Has NOT taken on record the copy Insurance paper of vehicle of Dr. Subhash Tarey 6. Has NOT taken on record the Copy of documents from Dakshin Honda workshop if the car was in workshop, as claimed by the Dr. Subhash Tarey7. Has NOT taken on record the photos of the car KA51P7891 taken by the insurance assessor / evaluator if it was in immovable in workshop, as claimed by Dr. Subhash Tarey8. Has NOT taken on record the FIR report of the car if it was in workshop for 3 months on account of accident, as claimed by Dr. Subhash Tarey9. Has NOT taken on record the receipt book of the towing service if the car KA51P7891 was towed as salvage, as claimed by the garage owner Mr. Vikram 10. Mr. Inspector Venkatesh explained us that the CCTV at the neighboring signals was not working on the day of the accident. However, when we checked the log book at the traffic control room, we got to know that all the CCTV (29th main, Jaideva crossing and Silk board) was working on March 29th, 2012. The police has NOT taken on record the log book of CCTV operating records from the control room.11. Has taken under custody a badly damaged ‘abandoned’ car and without proper justification has made it a prime suspect. Evidences are being fabricated to prove that this abandoned car is involved in the case.

We, the signatories, believe that there is a lack of transparency and fairness in the investigation conducted by the police.

We request you to please exercise the power and responsibility bestowed upon you by the constitution and initiates a transparent ‘thorough’ enquiry into this unfortunate incident and questionable events.

We believe only such a fair investigation carried out with the utmost respect to the bereaved family can only impart the justice that Amritanshu and his family deserves.